A rigid leader who demands all is done according to his method and his standard is a great solution when a company is in crisis and needs solid direction now. However, the cost of this leadership is an environment of reclusiveness and fear.
A leader with a top-down decision-making process will kill young ideas. This will cause people to feel disrespected and thus will sop bringing new or novel ideas forward. People also lose their sense of accountability. Performance falls if that leader is not running person to person shouting that they uphold “the standard.”
Leaders like this erode the pride and satisfaction high performers take in the work they do. Most people are not motivated by money alone.
When the company is losing money and needs rapid and direct change, this rigid leader is the perfect person to bring in as a leader. People need to be shocked to work in new and effective ways. He can do that. However, if he sticks around much after the crisis is finished, the results are very negative.